Despite their amazing start, the Hornets have only a one-game lead over San Antonio Spurs (7-1) and a two-game lead against Dallas Mavericks (6-2) in the Southwest Divisional race.

However, with victories already against the Spurs and Rockets, New Orleans can widen their advantage in the division starting tonight when they travel to play the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. The Hornets play the Mavericks again on Wednesday night at the New Orleans Arena.

Point guard Chris Paul and forward David West are playing like All-Stars, and the Hornets' bench has outscored the opponents' bench in five of eight games.

Williams said it's good to get divisional wins early, but they are taking the same approach for every game.

"I think we have the kind of team that brings it every night,'' Williams said. "I think if you win enough games, the division and conference usually take care of itself.''

On a three-game winning streak, the Mavericks are contending with the Hornets as one of the top defensive teams in the league. Dallas is holding opponents to a league-low 42 percent shooting and their 91.5 points allowed per game is the third lowest in the NBA.

The Hornets are allowing 89.7 points per game, which ranks second only to the Milwaukee Bucks' 89.4 average. The Hornets have not allowed an opponent to score 100 points.

But to successfully defend the Mavericks, the Hornets will have to contain 7-footer Dirk Nowitzki, who is their leading scorer with a 22.8 point average. West is expected to be matched against Nowitzki, but the Hornets also are expected to apply plenty of help.

Mavericks backup guard Jason Terry is averaging 18.9 points and has made 51.8 percent of his shots, and veteran point guard Jason Kidd is averaging 7.6 points and 10.5 assists.

The Mavericks were the preseason pick by many to repeat as the Southwest Division champions after finishing with a 55-27 record last season. Dallas' two losses are to the Memphis Grizzlies, a Southwest Divisional opponent, and the Denver Nuggets.

"It will be a test for us, having to play a quality and divisional team twice, '' center Emeka Okafor said. "We're 8-0 but we're not reading too much into it.''

The Hornets' players have followed Williams' lead in downplaying their successful start. But to keep their streak going, Williams said they will have to be a physical defensive team against the Mavericks.

Williams is considering changing his rotation to involve 7-foot backup center D.J. Mbenga, who did not play Saturday night and was on the court for six minutes in Tuesday's victory against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Mavericks have significant size in their frontcourt. Former Hornets center Tyson Chandler, 7 feet 1, 235 pounds, starts for the Mavericks and leads the team with 12 blocks and they bring 7-foot center Brendan Haywood off the bench.

"We have talked about not being soft with success, '' Williams said. "We haven't done what we wanted to do and that's win big. We're just focused on getting better.''